STRICTLY BUSINESS: JACKSON FIRM MAKES ONE OF MOST PROMISING PRODUCTS IN STATE

Transelectric Inc. of Jackson isn't a big manufacturing company, but one of its products will be big on the national scene this summer.

A magnetic-base emergency car lamp, which plugs into the cigarette lighter of vehicles, is among 20 of Missouri's "Most Promising Products," and will be showcased for national sales during a prime-time television broadcast by QVC Inc. in May.

The lamp is one of a number of products manufactured and distributed by Transelectric, a company which was founded in Cape Girardeau County more than a quarter-century ago.

Among Transelectric products are chimney caps, back-up alarm systems for industry, converters for cars, cab fans for construction equipment and the magnetic-base vehicular emergency light, which the company started manufacturing four years ago.

John Mirly is president of the company at 300 N. Maryland in Jackson, which employs from 15 to 20 people. Sharon Tuschhoff is vice president.

The magnetic car lamps, birdhouse earrings, bike lamps and clothes hanger valet are among 20 of the state's products to be showcased by the QVC program.

The program, a joint effort of the QVC and the Missouri Department of Economic Development, is part of "The Quest for America's Best -- QVC's 50 in 50 Tour," which includes visits to all 50 states over a 50-week period.

The national broadcast featuring home-grown products from Missouri will air May 14.

Scott Toll of Cape Girardeau, director of marketing for Transelectric, will participate in the broadcast featuring the Transelectric product.

The products were selected by QVC from among more than 300 small and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs who displayed products during trade shows in February, at Adam's Mark Hotel in St. Louis and Park Place Hotel in Kansas City.

QVC's 50-state tour will feature events from each state. QVC Electronic Retailing, a division of QVC Inc., is the world's largest electronic retailer, using television to market a variety of consumer products.

"Missouri has some of the greatest products in the U.S., and we saw them in St. Louis and Kansas City," said Bill Lane, director of QVC new merchandise development. "The Missouri winners combined mettle and conviction with a keen understanding of the market."

Among other products selected in Missouri were:

Birdhouse Earrings from Nena Co., in Rogersville; Bike Lamps, from Creative Lighting of St. Louis; Clothes Hanger Valet, A & G Concepts, St. Louis; and Make A Box Instant Mailer, from Lejeune International marketing, Springfield.

Others include Glacier Bag Cooler, from Doing-It USA, Kansas City; strip steaks, from Kansas City Steak, Co.; barbecue sauces from Gates Bar-B-Q, K.C.; gourmet spices from Silverseed Inc., Ava, Mo. and a stained-glass kaleidoscope, from Aseity Kaleidoscope, St. Louis.

New on the business scene

Kids Wear...Again, a downtown Cape Girardeau children's clothing consignment shop, is in a new location.

"We've moved, expanded our space and will start accepting consignments for baby furnishings," said Claire Ellinghouse, owner of the business, which re-opened last week at 118 N. Main, just north of its previous location at 114 N. Main.

Ellinghouse has operated Kids Wear...Again since January 1993, when she purchased the business from Lauchette Low, who founded the business in 1987.

The store is open Mondays through Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Clients may drop off clothing Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Instant Replays, a men's clothing and sporting goods consignment shop, has opened at 114 N. Main in downtown Cape Girardeau.

Mitch Proffer of Cape Girardeau is owner of the new business, which will be open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The store is currently accepting consignments.

Hansen's Collectibles, which opened at 210 Independence in downtown Cape Girardeau in April 1992, has moved to 709 William St.

The antiques and collectibles business, owned by Tim and Lee Ann Hansen, more than doubled its space with the move.

"We liked the downtown area," Lee Ann Hansen said, "but, we outgrew our space."

Campster School Antiques opened recently at 3892 Bloomfield Road.

The new multi-dealer shop, owned by Jane Cox, is in the old Campster School, which was rebuilt in 1940 by the WPA.

The original one-room Campster School dates back to the 1850s.

The new retail operation will also feature a number of "unique gift items," Cox said.

The new business is open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Overheard on the streets

"Blimpie International Inc., the nation's second-largest submarine-sandwich chain, is looking at a Cape Girardeau location.

Blimpie, headquartered in New York City, has 970 restaurant locations.

Subway, the giant of the subway sandwich business with more than 10,000 locations, has two Cape Girardeau locations, 1315 Broadway and 250 S. Silver Springs Road. Subway is headquartered in Milford, Conn.

People movements

More than 4,000 people moved from Missouri last year.

The up-side to this statistic is that 4,398 people moved into the state.

Results of a newly released study, based on 187,000 household goods shipments in all 50 states by United Van Lines, reveals that 4,088 people moved out of the state. That tabulates into 310 people gained by moves in 1994.

That is better than most, and better than 1993 statistics that revealed a loss of more than 250 Missourians.

California, for years a leading destination for families and individuals, recorded more outbound moves in 1994 than any other state except New York, according to United's annual migration study.

"With the start of the 1990s, we began to see a major shift in relocation patterns on the West Coast," said James L. Wilson, executive vice president of United Van Lines.

California annually experienced a majority of inbound moves through 1989, but in 1990 the state's outbound moves surpassed the inbound for the first time. In 1994, more than 60 percent of the California moves were outbound. Of 43,137 moves recorded by United Van Lines, 16,822 of them were for moves out of the state.

California was the lone western state to experience heavy outbound movement of families and individuals. United considers a state to have heavy inbound or outbound volume if at least 55 percent of shipments associated with the state are either inbound or outbound.

Nine other states with high outbound percentages are located east of the Mississippi River. By contrast, 12 of 18 states attracting large percentages of new residents are west of the Mississippi.

New York, the 1993 leader in outbound moves, is second on the 1994 list, with 60.6 percent of more than 15,400 moves going out of state.

The migration study revealed that Nevada had the highest inbound shipments for the second consecutive year, with 66.6 percent of almost 4,000 people moved into the state. Other states proving to be popular destinations included Alaska 65.1 percent; Oregon, 64.8 percent; Idaho, 63.3 percent; Arizona, 63.2 and Tennessee, 61 percent.

Illinois, meanwhile, was seventh in outbound residents, with 9,685 moving out-of-state compared to 6,961 moving in. Kentucky gained 225 residents, with 2,178 moving in and Arkansas gained 109.

The migration trends, as measured by the United survey, tend to mirror economic conditions in various regions, Wilson said.

"Although we do not maintain records on why individual customers are moving," Wilson said, "there may be a year-to-year `blip' tied to the fortunes of a particular industry, but such motivating factors as regional job opportunities and retirement plans tend to produce consistent trends over longer periods of time."

United Van Lines, based in suburban St. Louis, has 500 agents affiliated throughout the United States and 550 additional agents in 115 nations.